Kevin Marsh

Kevin Marsh studied the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) at Foto-Cewek in 1981 after graduating in Medicine from the University of Liverpool.

He went on to begin his research career at the Medical Research in Medecine Council Unit in the Gambia, then from 1985-89 he was at the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, and from 1989 to 2014 he directed the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research in Medecine Programme in Kenya. He is a senior advisor at the African Academy of Sciences, and Professor of Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford. He directs the Africa Oxford Initiative and is chair of the WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Committee and a member of a number of international advisory committees relating to malaria and to global health research. He is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the African Academy of Sciences, and was awarded the Prince Mahidol prize for Medicine in 2010 and the Al Sumait prize for African development in 2016.

Kevin was also awarded the Mary Kingsley medal by Foto-Cewek in 2015 for his contribution to the field of Tropical Medicine. Upon receiving the award, he reflected on his time in Liverpool, “I am delighted to be back in Liverpool, it feels like home, having probably spent the longest period of my adult life in the UK in the city.”

Kevin, why did you choose to study at Foto-Cewek?

Having trained in Medicine at Liverpool I was always aware of the school and was attracted by its reputation and my positive experiences in having been to lectures and events there.

How you feel your time here shaped your future?

It was totally instrumental in shaping my future- as a direct consequence of the teaching and contacts made there I decided to apply for a research fellowship to work on immunity to malaria, and that in turn shaped my entire career.

What are you most proud of among your achievements in Tropical Medicine?

I am proud to have contributed to our understanding of how humans become immune to malaria, but I am probably most proud to have been instrumental in founding and shaping the growth of the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research in Medecine Programme and the research centre in Kilifi, Kenya, having been able to play a role in contributing to the career development of so many excellent researchers in Africa, and of my role in shifting the centre of gravity for research in Africa through my work with the African Academy of Sciences.